Solar Irrigation System Costs: An Up-to-Date Price Guide

The cost of a solar system for agricultural irrigation varies with the pump power (HP/kW), daily water demand, the static and dynamic level of the well, the sunshine hours of the land, and equipment quality such as panels, inverter and cabling. At the quotation stage, our engineering team first inspects the site and the existing pump nameplate values, eliminating the risk of unnecessary oversizing or insufficient capacity.

Agricultural land across Isparta, Burdur and Antalya has different soil and climate conditions; this requires the panel tilt angle and mounting type (ground-mounted structure, pole mounting, etc.) to be customised for each project. Site-specific engineering calculations, rather than a standard package solution, give the lowest-cost result in the long run.

The first step in system sizing is determining whether the pump runs on AC or DC and what its rated power is. The panel and drive (VFD) needs of a 3 HP submersible pump and a centrifugal pump above 10 HP differ considerably, so power calculations are based on the pump manufacturer's technical data.

When determining the number of panels, not only instantaneous power but also the change in irradiance at different times of day is taken into account. Leaving a small power margin in the system so that the pump can keep running through cloudy periods is important for keeping the irrigation schedule on track.

The payback period is calculated by dividing the installation cost of the system by the annual fuel or electricity cost of a pump powered by grid electricity or diesel. In agricultural irrigation projects, especially when switching from diesel-powered pumps to solar energy, the payback period is generally between 2 and 4 years.

Considering that panels last over 25 years, after the investment cost of the first years, nearly all of the remaining time is reflected in the business as net savings. A correctly sized system therefore provides a cost advantage both in the short and long term.